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Article published In:
Emerging Assessment Needs and Solutions in EMI in Higher Education
Edited by Slobodanka Dimova and Joyce Kling
[Journal of English-Medium Instruction 1:2] 2022
► pp. 180–203

Comparing EMI university reading materials with students’ reading proficiency

Implications for admission testing

ORCID logo | HfH: Interkantonale Hochschule fur Heilpädagogik
| University of Innsbruck
| University of Innsbruck
| Michigan State University
| University of Innsbruck
| University of Innsbruck
This study investigated to what extent the complexity of EMI university reading materials matches EMI students’ reading proficiency. Text complexity and student proficiency were compared utilizing the Lexile® Framework for Reading text measures, reading test results, student questionnaire responses, and interviews with EMI lecturers. The results of the study indicate that, on average, Lexile text measures of EMI reading materials match students’ Lexile reading scores well. However, the analyses also show that there are wide disparities between texts in terms of difficulty and students in terms of proficiency. The questionnaire and interview data show that factors such as students’ topical knowledge, text length, and text structure and organization are relevant aspects of perceived text complexity beyond word frequency and sentence length. In terms of assessment practices in EMI contexts, the findings of the study suggest that (1) EMI language admission tests should consider reading ability separately; (2) integrated reading/speaking and reading/writing tasks should be authentic; (3) language tests for admission in EMI settings should also consider text length; and (4) texts in language tests for admission should vary in terms of Lexile scores to reflect real-world EMI contexts.
Keywords: EMI reading, assessing reading, Lexile framework, Aptis test
Article outline
  • Background and literature review
    • The role of reading in EMI university settings
    • Authenticity of EMI reading admission tests
    • Previous research on university reading materials using the Lexile Framework
    • Aim and research questions
  • Methodology
    • Reading test and questionnaire
    • Lexile analysis of reading materials
    • Interviews with lecturers
    • Data analysis
  • Results and discussion
    • Implications for admission testing
    • What makes texts difficult?
  • Limitations
  • Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 25 August 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jemi.21006.hol
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